Influencers on blast: how a Shein factory trip backfired | About That
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- Опубліковано 11 вер 2024
- A group of influencers has come under fire after attending a brand trip with Shein, one of the world's largest fast-fashion makers, which has been accused of labour law violations and an outsized environmental footprint. Andrew Chang explains how this PR campaign went so wrong.
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"They weren't even sweating."
"We were the ones sweating."
My god, I just lost brain cells.
Influencers need to be accountable for whatever it is they're promoting. They get paid / benefits from promotions, so they should own the risk of spreading misinformation to their viewers. If not, then the world is way too asymetrical for my liking.
If they are paid, sure. A lot of promotions are done for free.
Media needs to keep the same energy about Zara and their factories in Bangladesh. They are just attacking Shein.
@@houchi69it is naive to think a lot of promotions are done for free, especially from influencers
Everything you own comes from china. You should not look up to people to go about life. The influencers did not twist anyone hand or put a gun to their head and tell them buy the product.
@@houchi69never quite for free. Content is content. A weird place/trip = content = clicks = personal brand/account boosting at the least = better prospects for landing a better deal tomorrow.
And that's w/o considering the benefits from clicka and views and links etc.
Wow, the ignorance of these influencers who act like they are qualified journalists is astounding.
Right? Imagine calling yourself an ‘investigative journalist’ and thinking you’re gonna be able to conduct your ~investigation~ in an ethical and unbiased way while literally being paid by the brand to tour the brand’s factory. It’s embarrassing and laughably naive. Obviously that’s not how real journalism works, you can’t act like you’re unbiased when you are getting paid to promote the idea that shein is an ethical company. 🤦🏻♀️
Kinda like cbc thinking they’re journalist😂
Yes. It’s probably just naïveté. It would be horrible if they were capable of ignoring all the red flags...in exchange for a little extra money. 😏
Wanna talk about ignorance? How about millions of Americans who attribute anything related to China as being "negative", because they have been subject to propaganda. You guys practice propaganda everyday in domestic politics (Fox vs. CNN for instance). Yet when it comes to China, suddenly you believe every lie that's tossed at you to dehumanize Chinese.
It's amazing what you'd be willing to overlook when you're being paid to do so....
Never bought anything from shein. I stopped purchasing fast fashion years ago. Minimalism has given me a peace of mind and awareness on how to be more conscious of things I purchase and what to bring to my home.
It's not just about 'fast fashion'. My wife and daughters aren't into shopping for the latest stuff, and there is logic to buying clothes on the site for really cheap instead of buying similar made in China stuff that has been marked up at a famous chain.
@@shuki1 dude, do you know what fast fashion is? That’s exactly what it is, it’s inexpensive mass produced clothing. Just because your wife doesn’t care about the latest trends doesn’t mean you’re not still supporting fast fashion when you buy from a fast fashion website like shein. And acting like paying more for stuff automatically means you think it’s ‘marked up’ when in reality places like shein rip off other companies’ styles all the time and then produce cheap knock offs shows you don’t understand how grimy these companies are. If you’re paying $5 for a dress I guarantee you some serious exploitation and human suffering had to occur for that to happen. Plain and simple.
@@batacumba literally, the definition of fast fashion is that these sweatshops can take the 'latest' trends and churn out copies very quickly. And FWIW, unless you are buying Made in ______ (any western country) then the sweatshops are exactly like you described around the world, not just in Shein and co. I worked in textiles a few decades ago. The bulk of the workers were non-academic immigrants. This was considered 'fast fashion' because manufacturing was in the US and Canada close to markets. Shipping in from China involved a long process from design to distribution.
@@shuki1 yes. is'nt ALL fashion fast fashion? Shein is evil and Walmart and Targets are not? lol
@@teem9010you are mixing up fashion and fast fashion. I don't care, it makes people happy and gives needy people more clothes with people give their recently new clothes to Goodwill and other clothes recyclers.
Influencers should be blamed. This is their “job”. And when they lie or do their job poorly, they should be called out. They’re influencing people to waste money on garbage.
And that's why "influencers" are a complete joke. Influencers are just people off the street with an opinion. THAT'S IT! THEY AREN'T SPECIAL! It blows me away that young people, especially girls/women, actually listen to someone on the internet about what to do or buy or even feel and think it's okay. People that depend on other people in order to form an opinion is just sad. Use your own brain and make up your own mind.
Isn't it at least 'better' than people innocently believing that celebrities or professional athletes are credible presenters for any product?
@@shuki1 No, they're equally bad.
@@shuki1not at all. None of them are relevant. The difference is athletes and actors have talent. Influencers are pick me people and who crave attention while feeling and believing they are actually relevant lol.
@@ElevateYourWorth and certainly the talent held by athletes is irrelevant to the products they promote.
People off the street with opinion… good one!
All mass production is like this. Let's not be blind to the fact that this problem isn't the fault of just ONE COMPANY.
Just especially so.
SheIn is just hilariously obvious I feel (like wish level of ridiculous)
But Fashion has historically always been one of the most egregious industries in that regard because it's business is vanity
Influencer: I'm going to do investigative journaling, because I'm an investigative journalist!
Influencer: "So, are there labor issues going on here?"
Shein worker: "No."
Influencer: "Good to hear! Dear followers, Shein is above board."
Yah. That's pretty much what I got too. I just shook my head because I actually think they believe it!
😂 😂 😂
Either extremely gullible or sticking their head in the sand
what makes u think that any product doesnt have child labour? even iphone factory's subsidiary has issue. what now?
@@meffendy27 You can ask the Investigative Journalist influencer that.
If you think about it, it actually doesn’t take much to put two and two together. The minute you open the bag, you smell something off, like heavy plastics that you wouldn’t smell from a “normal” clothing delivery. The minute you touch the clothes, you notice it doesn’t feel like something you would put on your body. The minute you see the clothes, you notice that it looks very subpar to the pictures. We have become trained to depend less and less on our five senses behind our digitalized lives. If we go back to being a little more mindful about using our senses to notice, it’s actually not hard to see that SOMETHING is wrong.
@baiservole2298 you should be a writer. I can picture every word you said, love how you write
I’m noticing that lately at Amazon, too. So many clothing items are these obscure Chinese brands which either fail to mention fabric content, hide it deep within the text, or worse - get it plain wrong! (Saying ‘cotton’ & you get polyester).
There’s not a lot about shopping like this that leaves a person satisfied
Does everything also seems to be made to fit a cardboard cut out of a person than a three dimensional being?
Love the influencer standard issue apology. “Sorry that you just don’t know me well enough.”
S/o to CBC & Andrew Chang for their pivot towards this type of news presentation. Keep killing it Andrew!
Great video. It's sad how many people can understand why prices are so low, yet they continue to support fast fashion:/
It's hard when you need to buy clothes but can't afford quality. Paradoxically, it's quite expensive to be poor.
It's not that I or others necessarily support fast fashion, but I'm poor, so it's literally all I can afford. And legally I have to wear clothes. And I wear stuff till it's falling apart with holes. And then some cause I try to sew all the holes back together till I can't anymore. It's not like I like what's happening over there or that I agree with it.
Agreed, there's a plenty big second hand market if pricing is the issue
@@amileopard agree
so if we dont support shein it's us we gonna broke
I can't afford Gucci, leave me alone and I want my cheap fast fashion, thanks
Why did it take influencers visiting Shein for us to look at the toxicity of this brand?
People do still buy from Shein constantly.
Wish and Temu are also bad. I'll bet Temu is being pushed so hard to replace Shein after this marketing failure.
I’m not sure if people just don’t know or if they don’t care. I haven’t bought from shein because in the past few years I’ve been trying to reduce my waste contribution and being careful about what I do purchase.
But sooo many colleagues my age are shopping there and recommending the brand
Fast fashion needs to go!!
I bought some stuff from Temu and Shein and Shein take the cake here none of my items that I bought from Shein wasn't smelling bad or wasn't open or tore up and they're fast shipping and delivery is excellent experience and Temu is absolutely terrible hun I bought some stuff from Temu I got them smelling bad and bad enough to smelling like nail polish and some of them was tore up and delivery was not a excellent experience so I won't be shopping there anymore
Oh bruh, you should know, Shein and Temu are in a legal battle right now and constantly sabotaging each other
Wish is the biggest joke. Absolute crap quality. For every one item that might be worth buying, 99 are absolute crap or outright scam. Because the prices are so low (although sometimes the hidden fees catch everyone by surprise), I suspect that Wish will continue, but maybe under a new name. It went public in 2020 - today their stock value has fallen by 99% from its opening IPO price.
because Shein makes BEST clothes for less, but they don't charge you a fortune for it like USA corporations do.
Worth repeating “Did you actually expect them to take you to factories that would make them look bad?” Reality check.🤔
the thing to consider is, even if you close these factories, others will take its place as long as demand exist. the consumer behavior also have to change for this to change
Shein and other 'fast fashion' has a MASSIVE environmental and human cost and nobody with a shred of decency should be buying any of it!
Influencers = Ignorance and Greed
This is like going on one of those North Korea tours and thinking "I don't know what everybody's talking about, the country looked great"
Protect Andrew at all costs CBC, he as the perfect voice, demeanor, and presentation for this type of content. Haven't loved a presenter this much since Peter Mansbridge, absolute creme de la creme!
Like how and when did this term 'Influencer' gather legitimacy? Please do an About that.
Andrew Chang, this news series is fantastic. Keep making these.
andrew did a good job explaining this issue in detail to people who heard the name before but have nothing to do with shein and never invested a dollar towards anything they are affiliated with. You get what you paid for, people forget that in a broke economy. Money IS everything despite some people arguing against that.
When he said that one of the influencers doubled down on her stance of the trip not being propaganda, mentally I picked out the self-proclaimed "investigative journalist" being the one even before she was shown on frame!
I think so many stores use fast fashion just don't want you to know it. I saw a very similar item at a local retailer that was also being sold by shein. Same fabric. same design. it's possible it's all the same cheap stuff we just have faith in name brands
completely agree someone I know bought a belt for $40 from a well known boutique and it came with a sheen tag on it and the looked it up and the same belt was on shein for $8. so other stores definitely sell items from sheen factories. Horrible
I started sewing clothes a few months ago and one simple shirt takes me about 8 hours to make
Where do you think the fabric and materials come from??
Yep, China
Wow, hows that going? Ive always wanted to learn but it's a bit intimidating
@@lotusgrl444I hand-sew most of my clothes these days. Started with a youtube tutorial for a super simple nightgown, used rags to practice before buying actual fabric, still wear that nightgown today. Making doll clothing can also be a good way to practice before trying your hand on a larger project. I highly recommend giving it a try (not necessarily by hand). There are a lot of good resources out there.
This is the equivalent of my son showing us a reply letter from Santa so he must be real right? 😅
This series of short and informative segments on relevant happenings is absolutely fantastic, needs to be continued for a long time!
coruption
Why do people listen to influencers anyway? If these people are this naive about corporate propaganda, and ignorant of Chinese sweatshops, how are they able to convince others to buy anything?
Because others are equally as ignorant of (or indifferent to...) the suffering of others and how the world works.
@@Alex-js5lg You're probably right.
Because its more hip to feel woke than to be smart.
@3TYKX But this is the opposite of being woke. Being woke means you're aware of these things.
Whatever happened to being inspired by your peers, teachers, mentors, and parents. These online influencers are just shills to some name brand trying to get you to buy senseless material things.
lol "they weren't even sweating" now, how can that possibly be a sweatshop if no one is sweating :irony: :joking:
Be honest, the appearance of fast fashion makes me pay attention more on quality clothing. There are moments it's ok to buy cheap and there are times you need to invest and go for the best.
If you actually believed that the whole PR trip wasn't propaganda, I have a bridge I'd like to sell you.
They gave their child labor force the day off and it was probably their first day off since birth.
Seems like your stuck a couple decades behind.
Time to fix those tent cities, instead of spitting to the neighbor.
Exactly. I saw a video where they went into one of their factories with a hidden camera and OMG.
This piece is excellent. However, I’m annoyed by it, especially the “investigative journalist”. Good journalism is difficult and tedious. Investigative journalism is harder. To do it well, there must be depth. That influencer didn’t investigate anything on that Shein sponsored tour.
The presenter of this short is really good at what he does, damn
Andrew Chang? I've only found this series recently, but he's excellent from what I've seen so far. Very clear, balanced, understandable reporting.
Soooo my friend from church is African American, and she loves to shop at Shein. When I mentioned the slavery to her, she literally didn’t care about the slavery at all. She said “I already knew that” and it didn’t effect her or stop her from shopping there. I’m Latino but I just think it’s wild that someone with an ethnic history of slavery would not care at all. It’s ironic.
Their stuff is cheap if I was a millionaire I would not shop their as well
@@jennywinter3025huh? So because you're not a millionaire, you shop there?🙄😂 What does that have to do with the OP's comment?
@@dancing_qu33n idk 😜
Your African American friend sounds like she doesn't understand how harsh it is to not pay adequately(2.57 cents in some cases) for your labor and not to be given breaks and for kids young as 13teens work in those conditions is terrible, however; you don't seem to understand what chattel slavery is .To think she should surely understand because her ancestors were kidnapped beat and killed and owned by other humans is ignorant and ironic given your ethnic history.
I have a 'no dictatorship' rule for any work-based travel that I take part in. I've declined to submit to conferences (I'm a scientist at a national lab) that were held in China (for instance) despite it having a negative impact on my overall career trajectory to do so. The only way we can actually hold these places to account is to boycott them till they enact egalitarian practices. The fact that these influencers did not so much as look up published material on Shein's shady track record is extremely disappointing.
You are based af. A true Chad.
Can anyone influence these "influencers" to cover up? I am so sick of seeing half-baked, ill-fitting, non-flattering clothes being thrown at us in the public sphere. Not body shaming.... legitimately sick of people not dressing appropriately for their bodies and for that matter, the message they are trying to send. I'm not sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of my eyeballs being murdered.
You’re really focusing on the wrong thing. And yeah, you’re shaming peoples bodies because you think they need to be held to your preference of style.
Great video. I never assume online influencer as qualified as a journalist or even investigator.
Not to mention the designs they steal from small/online sellers.
I don't understand why people would even want to buy/patronize Shein.
Lol, like the unionless amazon warehouse is the best humanitarian palce to work on Earth. This is a universal problem
I would like to request CBC to make a report on housing crisis in Toronto. It getting out of control. We can’t afford anymore here.
theres a report a month only on about that about housing. it's not gonna solve anything
I don't buy any fast fashion. Everyone should just stop.
Genz is low iq you should not expect decency from them
So I had the app of that company on my phone….ordered items…cheap but awkward fit…but the most disturbing thing was I tried to redownload a snoring app to track my snoring and it said it couldn’t be downloaded because there was an app that was already listening????? I checked and the only app I had recently downloaded was that app….deleted it…and then was able to download my snoring app. Sooooooo…are the app developers listening to calls and everything else 🤔……I’m sorry but these influencers were super gullible and not sure how they thought this would really be received…🤦🏾♀️
This is why you need to support slow fashion and small businesses.
retailers in usa and canada need to lower their prices...period
Can we get rid of "influencers" for good please?
Love how I got a Temu ad before this video...😂
These influencers are getting free stuff from SHEIN and that is why they all are promoting the company. I wish we all could see the reality 😢
don't forget the all expenses paid luxurious trip to China
Why not hold other fast fashion brands accountable too? If we can talk about this, we can even talk about the west's unethical mining of natural resources in other countries to build their economies too!
‘Why is this report about this company not about every company?’ Is a weird complaint
If Shein, reported numerous times for being a sweat shop, is inviting influencers to take a tour on their factory, obviously they're going to hide the bad stuff and put on a show and go,"See? We aren't a sweat shop! Now please go spread the word to make us look good." I don't know how that one influencer can say the worker told her the truth when answering her questions. You can't know that for sure, and it's suspicious at best if they tell you things that goes against what has been previously reported on multiple occasions.
so if you’re not sweating it’s not a sweatshop. Got it!
You don't like what they are doing, Don't buy their product. Simple as that.
'Influencing' should be made illegal as a job. That it is even considered a job, is baffling.
Btw, funny how I got an ad of Shein on this video.
I don’t trust who people who get paid to give an opinion about a brand which they got paid for. Walmart does the same thing
Thanks for reporting both truth and falsehoods about this fast fashion business. Sharon G.
Isn't it ironic that shein is the ad that played at the start if this video? 😂
While watching this video, UA-cam just proceeded with showing Shien's ads. How irony 😂
I got two Shein ads while watching this video. At least You Tube cares lol
Just from a common sense standpoint; Consumers should be able to understand there's no way possible to purchase 4 or 5 complete outfits and have it shipped from China for less than a dinner at an Apple Bee's without their being a combination of literal slave labor and suspect materials being used... The reality has been essentially all clothes is made in these other countries to lower cost - you have to truly be dense to not question how it's possible to undercut H&M by so much...
Sounds like what happens when North Korea gives foreigners "tours"
Not a Shein ad popping up under this video 😭😭
I got a Shein add right before this video 🤣
The problem with brand marketing with being an influencer is:
A. Contract: if you found out after you posted about it or signed the deal, you still have to honour the agreement or face punishments if you back out
B. Hidden way: sometimes it's not as straightforward as you might think
C. Money: sometimes the deal is too good. YT and others only pay so much.
valid points
Influencers don't equate smart people. They're nothing but...
The thing about being invited to a factory by the company is that you cannot expect what you see to be indicative at all of what really happens on a daily basis at that factory. It doesn't matter if it's a sweatshop or a regular above-board company, when they invite you over, they're going to present everything in the absolute best possible light and that includes hiding all the actual regular workers, bringing in a handful of employees who are coached on what they can and cannot say, and hiding anything that doesn't look good on camera. There's a reason investigative journalism relies on being covert, interviewing workers and protecting their identities, and sometimes even going in undercover. Anything sponsored by a company is going to be PR, not the actual truth. Idk if these influencers were just naive, but it’s a case where they and their teams should have known better.
I'm so sick of celebrity endorsements, influencers included. Like, what, Aaron Paul didn't make enough money with Breaking Bad and now has to shill for a Bet365 commercial?
I had a Shein ad after that Video...this was kind of ironic... never buy At Shein! Rather go to a thrift shop to be a sustainable enviroment lover ❤
I had one before the video!
This was probably the best factory. I learned the Bangladesh ones are the worst. There is ethical factories there. I have family in the Philippines that support the Shien factories there. If they want to do good business they can step back and work with better production. I stepped back from being a youtuber to remove myself from all of these past companies I grew up with as a young content creator on youtube. I want a new start. I am a different evolving professional.
Use internet as a tool to do your own research. Never rely on these influencers' opinions as your sole information. They might be as clueless as you are😂
Same for Fashion Nova. But you, the news in United States, don't tell nothing about it because it's a company from US. So... yeah the critics of Shein are full of bs.
The larger problem is how in the states, for decades now, you can barely go anywhere and buy clothes from a retail store where the clothes/toys/phones by labor with the same bad conditions. The US is like the elite society in the Hunger Games movie and China is district 12.
The majority of clothes I see being sold on Facebook Marketplace are from Shein and the people who post them never post real pictures of the clothes but the stock photo from their website because it probably is not up to par with what it is actually being marketed to be and you have to assume that the clothing is going to be bad if it comes that cheap. Good quality clothing is more valuable then a clothing that is on trend. I never bought from them or have even been on their website because of how often I see it being second hand sold online. I just assumed it’s not good quality, especially as it’s marketed to the typical instagram body of which these days makes most clothes look good. It’s not my style anyways, and China already does not have a good rep.
Although I’ve NEVER purchased anything from Shein I’m here to discuss the quality relationship between labor and management.
Interesting them talking about how much Shein has grown since 2020...wonder if cost of living is driving it more than Shein actually making things worth buying. Lots of people are looking to cut costs and clothes is an easy option.
How much did they pay them?????? DEMONOTIZE asap.
Heres the thing. The average person is still going to buy from Shein because of their prices. The "propaganda" isnt necessary.
Inflation is crazy right now and the same pair of pants that are $8-$15 at Shein is $40-$60 at Zara or UO.
Theres tons of western brands doing the same thing. Primark also sells cheaply priced and cheaply made clothes, also H&M, forever 21. Just because shien is doing the same thing better, they’re getting so much more hate
Instead of framing the situation as Shein getting so much more hate, how about framing it as the other brands not getting enough hate?
@@jc3drums916 i like how we blame chinas poor labor regulations and enforcement, yet we keep paying them next to nothing for manufacturing. We could even start manufacturing locally!! Oh wait, we don’t like that too.
Who knows, those factory workers could be working for H&M or Zara whilst these brands are selling their itema for huge capitalists. Lol
"I am sorry that a lot of people that don't know me are so angry and upset"🤣
Influencers need to be accountable!!!!
I bought a second hand from Shein online, looks nice but terrible quality . Feels like completely wearing plastic . U got what u pay for really
The worst and stupidest part is they all are crying about China's propaganda on a Chinese propaganda tool, tik tok.
I love how these people are bitching about Chinese slave labor on a Chinese social media platform
I unfollowed an influencer because of this. Sheout.
It's sad that these people are called influencers. Influencers of bad decisions and miss information. I wish people would stop giving these people attention.
UA-cam INFLUENCERS TOUR NORTH KOREA!!! THEY SAY ''IT'S GREAT! CALM! LOVING! SUPER DUPER!"
Most clothing is like that they’re just cutting out the middle man. Other brands products are made at the same low price but marked up many multiples at retail.
🤦🏾♀️ So embarrassing
Shoutout CBC for this fr🙏🔥🏆
That’s why you don’t buy cheap clothes! They made a video about H&M horrible factories condition about 10 years ago I don’t buy from those retailers anymore.
And why is BHT still on grocery shelves in Canada?
One thing. Shein is DISGUSTING!
Please do a story on Temu!
I'm a designer for an apparel company and always visit the factory's production area and theirs is similar to my former companies but with a hint of technology with those robots, their work place even have pleasant vibe and clean. I always talk a lot with the factory workers during free time regarding our personal lives and share our job, responsibilities and how they get paid. I'm pretty sure those influencers don't know what to ask the company including the people from the factory as soon as they arrive. M
"I'm an investigative journalist"
"I should have done my research"
I'd be embarrassed if I was this person.
They flew "that" influencer out to China. How did they get her to fit in a plane?
I want to see the contracts they signed. Must be interesting. There is no question in my mind that it silenced them and controlled what they could say, and they STILL willingly signed. Because to them, the money and free clothes were worth the bad press and destruction of their rep. The money and free clothes were worth more than the lives and livlyhoods of others.
Thank you for speaking about this.
WHY DID I GET A SHEIN AD BEFORE THIS 🤨🤨🤨